How to distinguish correct and effective breastfeeding from incorrect and ineffective?

If the baby chews or sucks his own tongue, this is a reason for the mother to think about whether she is doing everything right. But more often than not, there is nothing dangerous in such behavior.

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A very young child can suck his tongue, and this does not go beyond the physiological norm and, as a rule, goes away over time. But if an older child, 3-4 years old, sucks his tongue, and this happens regularly or quite often, adults should think about whether everything is okay with him.

Correct effective breastfeeding

A good attachment to the breast and effective sucking by the baby is observed with the following signs:

• Most of the areola, including the nipple, is in the baby's mouth.
• The breast is pulled into the mouth, forming a long "nipple", but the nipple itself takes up about a third of the space in the mouth. The areola is almost invisible.
• The baby sucks on the breast, not the nipple. His mouth is wide open, his chin is pressed to his mother's chest, his lips are turned outward, his head is slightly thrown back.
• The baby's tongue is directed forward towards the lower gum, folded at the edges to form a bed for the nipple. When a baby suckles, a wave travels along the tongue from front to back, pressing the nipple and part of the breast against the hard palate to squeeze milk from the breast into the mouth for swallowing.
• The baby actually uses suction mainly to draw breast tissue into the mouth and hold it there.
• When the baby is well attached and properly attached to the breast, his mouth and tongue do not rub or injure the skin of the nipple and areola.
• The baby is comfortable, and the feeding process is pleasant for the mother. She doesn't feel pain.

If the baby is well attached to the breast, then he will be able to suck milk effectively. The following signs will indicate this: the baby makes slow, visible sucking movements. Swallowing sounds are heard approximately once per second. Sometimes the baby pauses for a few seconds, allowing the milk to fill his mouth. When the baby starts sucking again, he can do it a little faster at first, stimulating the supply of milk, and then switching to slow, deep sucking movements. The baby's cheeks remain rounded during feeding. Toward the end of feeding, sucking usually slows down, movements become less frequent and are accompanied by longer pauses. It is important that the baby continues to suckle, since at this time the “hind” milk, rich in fats, arrives. When the baby is full, he spontaneously releases the breast. The nipple may look stretched at this time, but it returns to its original shape in a few seconds.

Is thumb sucking harmful?

Pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky is convinced that thumb sucking is not a child’s problem, but a mother’s problem. It is parents who worry about this, especially if they hear negative comments from others.

Most often, this habit disappears on its own, unless, of course, it is reinforced due to the wrong actions of mom or dad. However, stereotypical behavior can also lead to a number of negative consequences:

1. When sucking fingers, various harmful microorganisms and worm larvae may enter the digestive tract. Of course, this does not happen at 2 months or a little later, when the child spends all his time in the crib. But with the onset of the active period, the baby begins to explore the world around him, simultaneously pushing his not always clean fingers into his mouth.
2. According to many orthodontists, such childhood weakness is fraught with the formation of a malocclusion (the upper front teeth protrude forward) and even problems with the development of speech skills. This is possible if thumb sucking continues after the age of five, when baby teeth begin to fall out.
3. If the habit has passed into older preschool and even primary school age, then the child will have a hard time because of the ridicule of his peers. And this is already fraught with serious psychological problems and difficulties with adaptation.
4. Fingers also suffer from sucking. The impact of teeth, gum pressure, and constant contact with saliva leads to the appearance of cracks, calluses, abrasions and deformation of nails. Pathogenic bacteria can enter the blood through damaged skin, resulting in tissue infection and inflammation.

Thus, the ingrained habit of sucking fingers is potentially harmful to the child: both from a hygienic and psychological point of view.

How can we wean a child from this unprofitable addiction? The choice of method will depend on the reason why the baby reaches for his fingers, his age and personality characteristics.

Incorrect and ineffective breastfeeding by the baby

Signs that your baby is not properly attached to the breast and is not sucking correctly:

• The baby's mouth only contains the nipple, not the breast tissue. In this case, the areola is clearly visible, and the child’s mouth is not open wide. The lips are rolled inward or extended into a tube.
• The baby's tongue is not extended and cannot reach the breast to squeeze milk out of it.
• The feeding process is uncomfortable or painful for the mother, causing pain in the nipples and their damage (cracks).

A baby who is poorly attached to the breast will most likely not suckle effectively. He may suck quickly, but will swallow very rarely and his cheeks will retract inwards. When the baby stops sucking and releases the breast, the nipple may remain flattened for a long time or have signs of compression.

When a baby sucks ineffectively, the milk does not flow well into the nipple. As a result, due to impaired milk flow, blockages of the milk ducts and mastitis can occur. If a baby doesn't consume enough milk, it will lead to poor weight gain. Also in such cases, the baby may be weaned. Or, on the contrary, the baby will suck for too long and want to eat too often, which will lead to reflex stimulation of the production of excess milk.

The reasons for ineffective attachment and breastfeeding may include:

• The use of a feeding bottle and pacifiers, which change the child’s motor sucking patterns to incorrect ones: the child begins to suck not the breast, but the nipple - as well as the pacifier.
• Functional difficulties such as flat and inverted nipples, or a very small or weak infant.

However, the most important reasons are the inexperience of the mother and the lack of qualified assistance from the medical workers who visit her. Many mothers need qualified help from a lactation consultant in the first days of feeding to ensure that the baby attaches well and suckles at the breast.

How to wean a baby from tongue sucking

If parents have such a problem and they urgently need to wean their baby from sucking his tongue, then in this case you can try offering the baby a pacifier or a special teether.

What is strictly forbidden to do is scold small children or hit their hands. Otherwise, you can only aggravate the current situation.

Aggressive influence from adults will cause the baby to worry even more, and his need to suck or chew something will only increase.

Also, if such a problem is observed, parents should think about whether they spend enough time with the baby, whether he has enough parental affection and attention. It will be useful to read books more often, talk to him, touch him and kiss him.

Call a breastfeeding specialist to your home

At the group's children's medical centers, we know that the most convenient place for breastfeeding consultations is your own cozy home:

• A specialist will come to you at a convenient time. You don't have to go to the clinic and wait in line. Consultations can also be held directly in the maternity hospital (if visits are permissible) or in a medical center.
• A familiar home environment makes consultation easier for both mother and child.
• At home, the consultant will be able to devote more time to both the child and the parents.
• The consultant is always a phone call away: day and night (at night you can call the contact center or write to the consultant, the consultant will answer as soon as possible), on weekdays and on weekends.
• Support from a specialist is not one-time consultations, but accompaniment: the consultant will visit the mother and baby again, if necessary, after 2-4 weeks to check how feeding is going and the baby’s weight gain.

In addition to calling a breastfeeding specialist to your home, you can call doctors of the main specialties: pediatrician, surgeon, allergist, urologist, pulmonologist, hematologist, dermatologist, ophthalmologist, ENT doctor, orthopedist, gastroenterologist and osteopath. You can also take tests, perform physiotherapy and massage at home. Infant swimming consultants can advise you at home and conduct a master class.

Find out about the special offer “Comprehensive examination at home”: the convenience of this program is that you can choose from a list of pediatric doctors exactly those specialists that your child needs and an individual set of medical services with a 20% discount!

Signs

During this process, the facial muscles around the mouth tighten on the child's face and the lips compress tightly, forming deep folds. You can observe how the lower lip is retracted between the teeth and comes into contact with the tongue. After waking up, parents often find that the child's lower face and pillow are wet with saliva. When examining the oral cavity of such children, it is clear that they have a smooth tip of the tongue, without roughness or pronounced papillae, with minor hemorrhages. Systematic placement of the tongue in the wrong position causes tooth displacement and the development of an open bite.

Advantages of calling Virilis Group specialists to your home

• Travel to any area of ​​the city and region without restrictions.
• No insurance, registration or citizenship is required to receive medical care.
• Providing assistance to children of any age.
• Experience in responsible treatment of children in St. Petersburg since 1991.
• 6 own children's medical centers with 650 specialists in 49 specialties.
• Possibility of diagnostics and continuation of treatment in our clinics.
• Coordination with other doctors of the VIRILIS Group of Companies clinics: we are a single team, and not individual doctors from a “mobile” clinic.
• 24/7 contact center.
• Issuance of official medical certificates and documents.
• Possibility of purchasing a package of a comprehensive medical program for a child, including the “Emergency Care” and “Comprehensive Examination at Home” packages.
• Special medical programs for newborns and infants.

Signals of delayed speech development in a child

One of the main indicators of a child’s mental well-being is timely speech development that corresponds to age standards. After all, speech is not only a means of communication, but also the main tool of thinking, a gateway into the world of knowledge and the development of a child as a person.

The reasons in a nutshell

The reasons for difficulties in mastering speech can be different. For example, hearing loss, early brain damage (birth injuries, prematurity, infections, etc.), genetic background can lead to a delay, despite exemplary communication between parents and children.

But there are other, extreme examples that each of us has seen: an upset child cries, a capricious or tired child screams - the parent “shuts up” him with a pacifier and gives him a gadget, enjoying the reigning peace and quiet. Social and pedagogical neglect may look different, but the essence remains the same: the child experiences a communicative hunger and does not receive high-quality and sufficient stimulation of the speech areas of the brain. In such cases, it is at least not logical to count on the timely development of speech.

What to pay attention to

A specialist (pediatrician, neurologist, child neuropsychologist, child psychiatrist) will find out the reasons when you contact him: he will give recommendations to the family, and refer you to related specialists, if required. But timely treatment, that is, recognition of the problem, is sometimes determined by the responsibility and awareness of the parents.

1. The child does not freeze or focus on you when you talk to him

In the first month of life, a normally developing baby begins to react to the voice of another person: it becomes quiet, as if listening. In the third month of life, the child fixes his gaze on the speaker and expresses emotional responses (smile, animation).

2. Monotonous humming

By the third or fourth month of life, the child begins to hum , alternating vowel sounds (mainly “a”, “u”, “e”) with overtones similar to a soft “g” or “x” (the classic “agu-aghu”). Often the child responds with such melodious syllables to speech addressed to him. If a child in the fifth or sixth month drones stereotypically, without changing intonation, without listening to his own voice, then this may indicate a hearing impairment. If the humming is very scanty or completely absent, this may be a sign of severe pathology. In both cases, it is necessary to contact a specialist (children's neurologist, pediatrician).

3. No babbling. Monotonously intonated babble

By the eighth to tenth month, the humming gives way to babbling - repeated syllables consisting of vowels and consonants. At first this repertoire is simple: “mamamama”, “uncle”, but as the child develops it becomes more complex, the syllables become more diverse, ri, “mya-la-nya”, etc. appear. What should make parents wary is monotonous, undeveloping, uncomplicated babbling, as well as the child’s lack of babbling words (“mama,” “baba,” “dad,” “am,” “give,” “bang.” ).

4. Poor vocabulary, lack of attempts to pronounce “adult words”

By approximately 1 year and 8-9 months, the child masters words with non-repeating syllables (“kisya”, “aunt”), and also demonstrates attempts to pronounce words with three syllables (“ofka” - “cow”, “sinya” - “car” ). The active vocabulary (i.e. words that the child is able to pronounce himself) has 20 - 40 words. If a child at this age prefers to use his old dictionary, it makes sense to take a closer look at the development of his speech, try to enrich his speech environment more richly (talk more, read books, play together).

5. Absence of simple sentences in speech by two years

At two years old, the active vocabulary grows to 50-200 words. The child begins to use the simplest sentences heard from adults (“Let’s go for a walk”, “It’s time to sleep”), and also tries to construct sentences on his own (“Kisya go”, “Baba, give me!”). If the baby does not make such attempts, it is worth considering whether enough has been done to develop his speech.

6. Inability to classify objects by three to four years of age

At this age, the active vocabulary ranges from 1000 to 2000 words. The child already understands that the word “cat” means not only his cat, but all cats in general, and “mother” means not only his cat, but all mothers. Children learn to categorize objects: they know, for example, that a plate, fork, cup are utensils, and a dog, hare, cow are animals. If by the age of four this understanding is not yet available to a child, you should be alarmed; perhaps the baby is developmentally delayed or has memory problems.

7. Poor speech, lack of developed speech by age five

At five years old, a child is capable of both dialogue (answering questions) and monologue speech. He uses verb tenses, pronouns, prepositions, prefixes and suffixes (“Arrived - left”, “chair - chair”). For all this, it is necessary that the baby has a sufficiently developed understanding of space and time. If a child avoids such complex words, makes do with nouns or verbs, and speaks in monosyllables by this age, this is an unfavorable sign and you should consult a specialist.

8. The child has “porridge in his mouth”, it is difficult to understand what he is saying

The age of physiological tongue-tiedness, when a child incorrectly pronounces some sounds due to an insufficiently developed articulatory apparatus, ends by the age of four. If the child’s speech is unintelligible after this age stage, then this is a reason to seek the advice of a specialist.

9. Speech stamps

It happens that a child surprises everyone with his rich, detailed speech. He may even enjoy “showing off” his monologues in front of adults and other children. However, in the dialogue it turns out that the child finds it difficult to answer even simple questions, construct sentences, express his thoughts and very quickly gets tired of such a conversation, transferring it to a well-learned topic. This happens if a child who has problems in speech and, as a rule, mental development, compensates for this deficiency with a well-developed memory, and recites (sometimes quite large) passages from his favorite books, cartoons, and songs.

Instead of a conclusion

Everything that has been said once again suggests that the situation in which a child does not speak at all by the age of three, and even more so by four years , is completely atypical. In any case, such a situation (even if “it’s a family thing, dad didn’t speak until he was five” or “grandfather was completely silent until he was seven”) requires the attention of professionals.

It happens that a child’s speech disappears or is distorted after suffering traumatic events, or as part of the course of a mental illness. Early identification of these conditions also facilitates timely care.

If any of the above is noticed in a child, you should not wait for “sea weather”, wasting precious time. Developing at first, as if in parallel, thinking and speech at a certain stage (starting from 2.5-3 years) close and spur each other’s development: thinking becomes verbal, and speech becomes more and more meaningful. From here it is easy to conclude: without receiving “support” from speech, the child’s thinking is delayed at an earlier stage of development than the thinking of his “speaking” peers. Thus, a child who does not receive timely help and does not learn to operate with speech, in the worst case scenario, can “earn” secondary mental retardation.

Autism spectrum disorders in children may also be accompanied by delayed speech development. It is not uncommon in autism to have a situation where, until a certain age, a child’s speech development corresponded to his age or even advanced – babbling appeared, the first words appeared, but then the skills were lost. It is very important to undergo a timely examination by a child psychiatrist to exclude and confirm the diagnosis of early childhood autism. Unfortunately, in a children's clinic, psychiatrists have very heavy workloads and there is not always enough time and tools for a full diagnosis during routine examinations at 2 years of age. In our center, several qualified doctors know the most modern methods of examining children for the early detection of autism spectrum disorders. It is better to play it safe and exclude the presence of such a disease in a child, but if it is nevertheless detected, then the early start of treatment and rehabilitation measures is the key to ensuring that the child will be able to adapt as much as possible and develop his skills.

There is no need to be afraid of a visit to a child psychiatrist in our center. The examination data is confidential information, the child will not be “registered” and the fact of the application will not be transferred anywhere to third-party organizations. Based on the results of the examination, a rehabilitation plan for the child will be drawn up, and special techniques will be selected depending on the established cause of delayed speech development. In some cases, drug treatment may be required, but medications alone cannot solve the problem; there is no “magic pill” that develops speech. Medicines can only make it easier for a child to study according to a properly selected program.

What should healthy saliva look like?

Healthy saliva of an adult and a baby should be:

• Transparent;
• Liquid;
• Should not foam;
• It cannot be viscous or viscous.

Functions performed by oral fluid:

• Maintaining pH levels in the body within normal limits;
• Preventing the development of caries and tartar;
• Reducing the number of harmful microbes, and therefore preventing the appearance of bad breath;
• Of course, the process of processing and digesting food, because carbohydrates are broken down in the oral cavity;
• In newborns, it also protects the delicate mucous membrane from damage and irritation;
• Cleansing the oral cavity from food debris;
• It is the lipase found in the oral cavity that helps in infancy to better absorb milk, which is why salivation is so abundant;
• She also actively participates in the formation of taste sensations.

Age problem

Preschool children usually do not suffer from constant tongue sucking. But sometimes they can get into the habit of pulling it out and chewing it. And if a child has been weaned from a pacifier or bottle for a long time, then this habit needs to be eradicated.

Schoolchildren often suck their tongues from excessive zeal when doing homework or some serious assignment. If this happens rarely, only isolated cases are observed, then there is no need to worry. There is no need to scold him for this. If a child continues to suck his tongue out of a habit that was not eradicated in childhood, in this case it must be weaned off, but very carefully.

First of all, you should pay attention to the situation in which the child sucks his tongue - he is busy or relaxed, nervous or calm, about to sleep or awake. And when he returns to his bad habit, there is no need to talk about it, focus attention, scold, or reproach the child. It is enough to distract him, direct his attention to something interesting, unusual. The main thing is to eradicate a bad habit with a positive attitude, so that the child says goodbye to it with pleasure, unconsciously understanding its uselessness. This applies to fighting not only tongue sucking, but also any bad habit.

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Psychological reasons

1. The baby may lack parental attention, and he tries so hard to amuse and calm himself. The care and love of parents helps in this case. We need to show more attention to the baby, keep him busy with exciting games, give him more opportunities to communicate and play with peers. You should constantly keep him occupied with something so that he doesn’t mope and is constantly doing something. This way he won’t be distracted by bad habits at all.
2. The baby can express anxiety, excitement, concern in this way and tries to compensate for them with something. He clearly lacks affection and pleasant impressions. It is necessary to rid him of stressful situations so that they do not lead to prolonged depression. Any means that can create a positive mood will do for this. You shouldn’t constantly scold him; on the contrary, you need to morally encourage him. Over time, the urge to suck tongue will decrease. But this will not happen immediately.

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The orthodontist will give a medical opinion: braces, veneers or aligners are better for you

A situation very often occurs when a baby, after two months of life, begins to bleed and drool. The mouth is often wet. Worried mothers and fathers immediately start looking for information through friends and forums, consulting with specialists, getting nervous and worrying whether their baby is sick. A concerned family is looking for reasons in possible disruptions in the functioning of internal organs. Calm down, dear fathers and mothers. This is not a reason to panic.

Help and prevention

Tie a bib garter, the fabric will absorb all the liquid, and the skin of the neck and chest will remain dry.

It is very important to ensure that the child, lying on his back, does not choke or choke. In this case, you may hear him wheezing and coughing. To avoid these troubles, it is better to place the baby on his side or stomach, and use a pillow that is not too high. Thus, all the liquid will simply flow down and will not cause harm.

A pacifier will also be of great help to you. It will make it much easier to swallow liquid.

When the swelling is increased due to teething, it is necessary to massage the gums to relieve itching and discomfort. Lightly press on the places where the first teeth appear.

How to develop the sucking reflex?

The development of the reflex requires hospital treatment and mandatory monitoring by specialists (neonatologist and neurologist). The duration of recovery of the sucking reflex depends on the root cause of its weakness and the individual characteristics of the newborn.

A child born prematurely has low weight, an underdeveloped brain, lungs, and other organs and systems. The sucking reflex in such children is weakened or completely absent due to underdevelopment of the facial muscles. Premature babies require a special approach to nutrition:

• In cases of extreme prematurity, children receive parenteral nutrition (administration of a glucose solution through a dropper). In the future, breastfeeding is carried out using a tube.
• When the muscles responsible for swallowing and sucking are fully formed, the baby is fed bottles at least 10 times a day to develop the sucking reflex.
• As soon as the reflex has developed sufficiently, breastfeeding is started. First, alternate breastfeeding with bottle feeding, then gradually switch to breastfeeding.

The following will help restore the reflex if it is partially unformed:

• feeding the baby with expressed milk from a spoon or bottle;
• feeding every 2-2.5 hours;
• using a pacifier;
• performing a facial massage before feeding (if the facial nerve is damaged).